Prep volleyball: Riverdale outlasts Barron in five sets

The Cougars lost in five sets to the Raiders at the 6A regional quarterfinals on Wednesday.

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Scott McIntyre/Staff
Riverdale High School defeats Barron Collier High School in volleyball at Barron Collier on Wednesday.

NAPLES - Same teams, same gym, same postseason drama.

A year to the day after Barron Collier and Riverdale slugged it out in a five-set regional volleyball match, they were at it again Wednesday. Unfortunately for the host Cougars, it was a different result.

Riverdale avenged last year's playoff loss by beating Barron Collier in the Class 6A regional quarterfinals. The Raiders won the first two sets before holding on to outlast Barron in five games, 25-20, 26-24, 20-25, 21-25, 15-12.

The Cougars (15-10) held a 15-8 lead in the second set before losing. They regrouped to lead most the way in the next two sets and then opened an early three-point lead in the decisive fifth set. Barron Collier was up 11-9 in the fifth before Riverdale closed on a 6-1 run.

"I'm proud of the way they fought," said Nick Sweat, whose Cougars won their second straight district title this season. "It's hard to come back after losing the first two."

In last year's regional quarterfinal, the Cougars' only postseason win the past six seasons, Riverdale had match point in the fifth set before Barron Collier came back to win in extra points. On Wednesday, the Raiders didn't let their lead slip away.

Riverdale moves on to the regional semifinals Tuesday at Fort Myers in a rematch of the 6A-District 13 championship game, which the Green Wave won. Fort Myers swept Gulf Coast in Wednesday's quarterfinals.

The outcome easily could have been different for Barron Collier. The Cougars led 19-18 in a contentious first set. There were 16 ties and seven lead changes, and neither team led by more than two points until Riverdale scored the final five points of the set.

The Cougars led 21-20 in the second set, which was tied 24-24 before Riverdale won.

"The first two sets we didn't show that we wanted it enough," Barron Collier junior Lisa Dunleavy said. "We let them have a chance. The second two sets we decided we wanted it, but then it was too late. A game to 15 (like the fifth set) can go either way."

Dunleavy, in her first season at Barron after transferring from Seacrest, had 11 kills and 30 digs to lead her team. Crystal Widom, also new after coming from Gulf Coast, had 10 kills and 4½ blocks.

Josie Armeda had 13 kills for Riverdale, and Chenelle Walker added 12 kills. Walker led the Raiders' comeback charge in the second set with four kills during her team's late run.

Though teary-eyed and disappointed after Wednesday's loss, the Cougars are optimistic about the future. Barron Collier loses just one senior, Olivia Napoleon, and has high expectations for next season.

"We're going to come back and be ready to challenge Riverdale next year," Dunleavy said. "We have a ton of girls playing club season, and we're going to pick it up."